It's fun imaging what death is going to be like. Having no beliefs to sway my thinking on the matter, superstitiously speaking, beyond the final quakes and fizzles of dwindling mind function when the time comes, I do not worry about any great beyond. I am intrigued, however, with what the final mind quakes and fizzles are going to be like, and speculate freely on that aspect of transition state. My favorite hypothesis centers on an initial spike of brain activity as synaptic

Dreaming in a dream, a moose eased up to sniff at my dreamed self. It didn't disturb my dream-in-dreaming self, politely sniffing before going on about its own dreamed business. Waking after spending a while trying to stay in the dream, hoping it would return, its quake lingered long enough to be recalled by the conscious mind. Happy for that, its aura persisted throughout the day, providing pleasant vibes while dealing with pressing realities.

Thirteen years spent as a common laborer with limited skill sets, taking college coursework as time and budget allowed during that span of years before beginning a professional career which would carry on for thirty years, twelve of which would entail operating my own company, the path was long but not as arduous as expected. Along the way there were always lots of fun times experienced between stretches of work, and even most of those were a joy to have lived through, though

First time walking into the foyer of St. Joseph Hospital in OKC, I was dumbfounded by it all. My only reference to its artdeco vastness came from some Superman cartoons on TV, so that's the sensation it imparted as we went inside to check me in for first strabismus surgery. I wasn't frightened by it or by any of the experiences leading up to and including surgery. Doctor King was a nice man and somehow kept me calm and happy through all the exams. The nurses were nuns and the

Preparing the harvest for storage will be a major annual operation requiring weeks of kitchen work. A harvest processing cottage might be best for this than doing it in the house kitchen. A large pantry will be required for storage of prepared foodstuffs. Preferably mouse proof. Also essential, a good tub for soaking away aches and pains induced by the work required. Having a separate harvest cottage will keep the house kitchen free of mess for its daily use. A short bike ri

Another aspect of homesteading the new parcel is transitioning its arable acres into a sustainable food forest. Hugelkultur beds construction using fallen branches, leaves and compost has already begun while house design is underway. By the time construction begins on it, the first beds will be laid out and planted with nitrogen fixers like beans, peas, spinnache, lettuce, radishes. After they do their biomagic stabllizing the soil then small fruit-bearing trees, bushes, vine

The USFS loses control of about 7 prescribed burns each year. They acknowledge a total of 43 having escaped control to date of this blog post. As with all things government, I suspect these numbers are deliberate undercounts. Regardless, it's a pretty good record even if the numbers are a little higher. Still, it burns when they let it happen due to gross incompetence and criminal negligence, as was reported to be the two cases which caused the Hermit's Peak/Calf Canyon Fires

When I turned ten, my parents bought a cabin tent with screen door flap and we began camping in style at various places within the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge near Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In those days there weren't a lot of controls in place preventing close proximity of larger wildlife and humans recreating there. That's when I became enthralled by all things outdoors and natural. One morning after sleeping comfortably and deeply in the tent with my family, the sound of

When I turned nine, my paternal grandmother took me fishing with her at Baker Lake. I wasn't keen on fishing so before evening faded to nighttime I asked if it was okay for me to go walking around the lake. She agreed and off I went to explore a favorite place during a favorite time of day. Scaling the slope up to the top of the dam, I walked its length at a leisurely pace then turned and walked back a bit more quickly as darkness began wrapping around everything. Near the e

Feral hogs had the dog all worked up in the wee hours of the morning. Chased them away twice. They balked the second time after moving away from me into ground tangle. At first I cursed at them. Then I wondered at my arrogance. They're here by no fault of their own, just like me. Just like everyone forced into a place and time. So I whispered conversationally to let them know I don't hate them for being who and where they are. A low grunt from the thicket near the stream bank